Ben's room [Ellis Island, Enderverse, Wednesday afternoon, Fandom time]

[momslilassassin]

Ben finally got his hand extracted from Ender's (he hadn't really been trying that hard while Alai had been visiting), and left the room to give Val (and Alai, sigh, grumble, whatever) some time to spend with Ender as well.

Ben went for a walk, got lost four times, found some food and a shower and finally made his way back to his room.

He sat down in an uncomfortable chair on the theory that if he sat on the bed he'd fall asleep for a week, and began making some long-delayed calls back to Fandom.

With his luck, time had sped up there, he'd been gone for a month, and Karla was after his head...

[OOC: If you think he called you, he did!]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

"You have some kind of story to tell me about visiting Jono's world too, I think," Ben said, sounding a little Warlord Prince-y. "You used yourself up too much."

Didn't mean he wouldn't be demanding healing for Ender anyway, but...

[glacial_queen]

"I wish I could have done more," Karla said, not even bothering to deny it or even protest. "He called us in a panic after coming home and finding a bunch of people from his new school crucified on the front lawn. And then the next day was worse."

So, so, so much worse.

"What Hobart is doing, he's doing it for power and politics." Her voice was very soft. "I can't condone it, but I can at least understand it. What happens in Jono's world--and Bobby's and Warren's--the mindless fear and hate that leads to exterminating millions...I just can't."

[momslilassassin]

"That part I have more insight on," Ben said sadly. "That's got the Yuuzhan Vong War--and the rise of the Empire, to an extent, written all over it."

But he wasn't going to go into details right now. He had enough of a mess on his hands without digging up the past.

"How much worse did it get?" Ben said. He'd been to some gruesome situations with Karla, and if she thought it was bad, he was going to believe her.

[glacial_queen]

"'Hundreds of bodies in a church' worse," Karla said, tucking her knees up to her chest now. "'With dozens of still-living experiments in the basement' worse."

Because this was exactly what Ben wanted to hear about while worried out of his mind for Ender, right?

[momslilassassin]

Ben shuddered. It was at least a different kind of worried?

"Warren there too?"

[glacial_queen]

"Yup," Karla said, sounding weary and guilty. "Jono just said he needed Healers, and Warren's blood Heals. He's also gotten good at medical stuff from Panem and the like, so I asked him to come along."

Which meant he got treated to another helping of nightmare material at her instigation. Yay.

"I didn't know--and no one could have guessed about the church--"

[momslilassassin]

"Hey," Ben said softly, "I'm not blaming you, and I'm sure Warren isn't either."

[glacial_queen]

"I am," Karla said. "I hate that the vast majority of awful things he's seen, it's somehow been because of me. I'm not trying to protect him--" anymore "--but I could really wish that I wasn't somehow present and involved in almost every traumatic event he's faced."

[momslilassassin]

"Pretty sure you've also been involved in some of his good events," Ben replied. "Not that I'm asking for details of those."

[glacial_queen]

"Honestly, Ben, do you think I'm the kind of witch who kisses and tells?"

She was. She so was.

"But in the wake of all that, it's hard to think a good morning blow job really rates much."

THAT WASN'T A DETAIL!

[momslilassassin]

"Depends on the blow job," Ben said, blushing furiously.

[glacial_queen]

"..."

Oh, now you got her attention, Ben. Fear.

"Just what has to go into a blow job to make sure it does?" Did you hear that rustling in the background, Ben? That was Karla. Preparing to take notes.

[momslilassassin]

"Karla!! I'm not telling you over the phone!"

[glacial_queen]

"What's wrong with the phone?" Karla complained back. "It's not like you're going to give me a live demonstration when you get home, right?"

...

"You're not, right? Because that would get awkward, even if you showed me on something at 'Dite's."

Just think, Ben. You'd missed her.

[momslilassassin]

Oh, listen to all of that trans-universal sputtering. "Of course I'm not! I just don't want this recorded for Graff's entertainment."

Ben might've had an overblown sense of what Graff might find entertaining.